July 2014 Supplement: Rescue Robotics
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CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter July 2014 Supplement: Rescue Robotics 1 www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter July 2014 Supplement: Rescue Robotics Rescue Robotics There is no doubt that Robotics will be our coworkers in the near (?) future. Especially in rescue operations and potential deadly environments. They can walk, crawl, climb, fly and dive already. They can operate into swarms, alone or indermendently and are not affected by fatigue, emotions or other disturbing factors like humans do. This special collection of articles will highlight some of the most recent advances on Rescue Robotics and their existing or future applications and possibilities. The Editor-in-Chief CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter Robot Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot The word robot can refer to both physical robots and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as bots. There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots but there is general agreement among experts, and the public, that robots tend to do some or all of the following: move around, operate a mechanical limb, sense and manipulate their environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior — especially behavior which mimics humans or other animals. In practical terms, "robot" usually refers to a machine which can be electronically programmed to carry out a variety of physical tasks or actions. 2 KITT (a fictitious robot) is mentally ASIMO is physically anthropomorphic anthropomorphic There is no one definition of robot that satisfies everyone and many people have their own. For example Joseph Engelberger, a pioneer in industrial robotics, once remarked: "I can't define a robot, but I know one when I see one.‖ The two ways that robots differ from actual beings are, simply stated, in the domain of cognition, and in the domain of biological form. The general consensus is that a "robot" is a machine and not a being simply because it is not intelligent (it requires programming to function), regardless of how human- like it may appear. In contrast, an imaginary "machine" or "artificial life form" (as in science fiction) that could think near or above human intelligence, and had a sensory body, would no longer be a "robot" but would be some kind of "artificial being" or "cognitive robot", (cyborg). According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica a robot is "any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a humanlike manner." Merriam-Webster describes a robot as a "machine that looks like a human being and performs various complex acts (as walking or talking) of a human being", or a "device that automatically performs complicated often repetitive tasks", or a "mechanism guided by automatic controls". History The idea of automata originates in the mythologies of many cultures around the world. Engineers and inventors from ancient civilizations, including Ancient China, Ancient www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter July 2014 Supplement: Rescue Robotics Greece, and Ptolemaic Egypt, attempted to build self-operating machines, some resembling animals and humans. Early descriptions of automata include the artificial doves of Archytas, the artificial birds of Mozi and Lu Ban, a "speaking" automaton by Hero of Alexandria, a washstand automaton by Philo of Byzantium, and a human automaton described in the Lie Zi. Early beginnings Many ancient mythologies, and most modern religions include artificial people, such as the mechanical servants built by the Greek god Hephaestus (Vulcan to the Romans), the clay golems of Jewish legend and clay giants of Norse legend, and Galatea, the mythical statue of Pygmalion that came to life. Since circa 400 BC, myths of Crete include Talos, a man of bronze who guarded the Cretan island of Europa from pirates. Washstand automaton reconstruction, as described by Philo of Byzantium (Greece, 3rd century BC). In ancient Greece, the Greek engineer Ctesibius (c. 270 BC) "applied a knowledge of pneumatics and hydraulics to produce the first organ and water clocks with moving figures." In the 4th century BC, the Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called "The Pigeon". Hero of Alexandria (10–70 AD), a Greek mathematician and inventor, created numerous user- configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water. 3 Al-Jazari's toy boat, musical automata The 11th century Lokapannatti tells of how the Buddha's relics were protected by mechanical robots (bhuta vahana yanta), from the kingdom of Roma visaya (Rome); until they were disarmed by King Ashoka. In ancient China, the 3rd century text of the Lie Zi describes an account of humanoid automata, involving a much earlier encounter between Chinese emperor King Mu of Zhou and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'. Yan Shi proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork' made of leather, wood, and artificial organs. There are also accounts of flying automata in the Han Fei Zi and other texts, which attributes the 5th century BC Mohist philosopher Mozi and his contemporary Lu Ban with the invention of artificial wooden birds (ma yuan) that could successfully fly. In 1066, the Chinese inventor Su Song built a water clock in the form of a tower which featured mechanical figurines which chimed the hours. Su Song's astronomical clock tower showing the mechanical figurines which chimed the hours. The beginning of automata is associated with the invention of early Su Song's astronomical clock tower www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter July 2014 Supplement: Rescue Robotics featured mechanical figurines that chimed the hours. His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs (cams) that bumped into little levers that operated percussion instruments. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns by moving the pegs to different locations. In Renaissance Italy, Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) sketched plans for a humanoid robot around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings of a mechanical knight now known as Leonardo's robot, able to sit up, wave its arms and move its head and jaw. The design was probably based on anatomical research recorded in his Vitruvian Man. It is not known whether he attempted to build it. In Japan, complex animal and human automata were built between the 17th to 19th centuries, with many described in the 18th century Karakuri zui (Illustrated Machinery, 1796). One such automaton was the karakuri ningyō, a mechanized puppet. Different variations of the karakuri existed: the Butai karakuri, which were used in theatre, the Zashiki karakuri, which were small and used in homes, and the Dashi karakuri which were used in religious festivals, where the puppets were used to perform reenactments of traditional myths and legends. In France, between 1738 and 1739, Jacques de Vaucanson exhibited several life-sized automatons: a flute player, a pipe player and a duck. The mechanical duck could flap its wings, crane its neck, and swallow food from the exhibitor's hand, and it gave the illusion of digesting its food by excreting matter stored in a hidden compartment. Remote-controlled systems The Brennan torpedo, one of the earliest 'guided missiles' Remotely operated vehicles were demonstrated in the late 19th Century in the form of several types of remotely controlled torpedos. The early 1870s saw remotely controlled torpedos by John Ericsson (pneumatic), John Louis Lay (electric wire 4 guided), and Victor von Scheliha (electric wire guided). The Brennan torpedo, invented by Louis Brennan in 1877 was powered by two contra-rotating propellors that were spun by rapidly pulling out wires from drums wound inside the torpedo. Differential speed on the wires connected to the shore station allowed the torpedo to be guided to its target, making it "the world's first practical guided missile".In 1897 the British inventor Ernest Wilson was granted a patent for a torpedo remotely controlled by "Hertzian" (radio) waves and in 1898 Nikola Tesla publicly demonstrated a wireless-controlled torpedo that he hoped to sell to the US Navy. Archibald Low, known as the "father of radio guidance systems" for his pioneering work on guided rockets and planes during the First World War. In 1917, he demonstrated a remote controlled aircraft to the Royal Flying Corps and in the same year built the first wire-guided rocket. Humanoid robots The term 'robot' was first used to denote fictional automata in a 1921 play R.U.R. Rossum's Universal Robots by the Czech writer, Karel Čapek. Karel Čapek — first user of the term 'robot'. He used this word in a 1921 play R.U.R. Rossum's Universal Robots. 'Robot' is a purely Czech word. In 1928, one of the first humanoid robots was exhibited at the annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society in London. Invented by W. H. Richards, the robot Eric's frame consisted of an aluminium body of armour with eleven electromagnets and one motor powered by a twelve- volt power source. The robot could move its hands and www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com CBRNE-Terrorism Newsletter July 2014 Supplement: Rescue Robotics head and could be controlled through remote control or voice control.[32] Westinghouse Electric Corporation built Televox in 1926; it was a cardboard cutout connected to various devices which users could turn on and off. In 1939, the humanoid robot known as Elektro was debuted at the World's Fair. Seven feet tall (2.1 m) and weighing 265 pounds (120.2 kg), it could walk by voice command, speak about 700 words (using a 78-rpm record player), smoke cigarettes, blow up balloons, and move its head and arms. The body consisted of a steel gear, cam and motor skeleton covered by an aluminum skin.